Teen shot, killed after fight that ended Miramar dance

Brian Haas Staff WriterSun-Sentinel.com

It was supposed to be a fun celebration at the end of the school year to raise money for the sophomore class.

Instead, students found themselves fleeing from gunshots after a violent fight cut the dance at Parkway Academy in Miramar short Friday night, and a bullet left 19-year-old Devon "Scooter" Sutton, of Miami, dead near the parking lot.

Between 800 and 1,000 students piled into the public charter school's gymnasium Friday night at the camouflage-themed, year-end dance. At about 11:30 p.m., a group of teens poured water on a 16-year-old girl, said Office Bill Robertson, spokesman for the Miramar Police Department. She enlisted the help of her cousins to deal with the group. One older cousin, who was the dance's DJ, tried to calm the situation down. His brother, Sutton, approached the group outside and a fistfight broke out between several teens, Robertson said.

A security guard at the school decided to shut the dance down after the fight, but the problems spilled outside the parking lot, police said.

Before the guard could unlock the gate to let the partygoers out, Robertson said, Sutton drove his car to the 8-foot fence enclosing the parking lot, climbed over it and approached the group, which had parked nearby in the 7400 block of Riviera Boulevard. There, just outside the fence, someone opened a car door and shot Sutton in the head, Robertson said.

India Roberts, 16, said she was standing at the exit of the gymnasium when she heard gunshots.

"I heard two bullets being fired and everyone went crazy and started running everywhere," she said in an e-mail. "My mom was out by the gate too at the time, so I ran to see if she was okay and I saw Devon lying on the floor"

Roberts said Sutton's 16-year-old cousin pleaded with him to get up.

"But he never moved," Roberts said.

Police swarmed the area and an ambulance rushed Sutton to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he was pronounced dead.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel was unable to reach Sutton's relatives or officials at the 400-student charter school Saturday.

According to Florida criminal records, Sutton was on probation Friday night for aggravated assault with a weapon and possession of cocaine charges from 2005.

Roberts said Sutton, who did not attend the school, was a fun person to be around.

"Devon was a rowdy boy and knew how to have fun, and he can get out of control at times," she said. "But still, he was polite, sweet and never just stepped out and disrespected anyone."

The very same school dealt with violence in November when a student was shot on a charter school bus. Camille Burke, 17, is still being held without bond on an attempted murder charge in connection with the November shooting.

As for Sutton's death, police made no arrests Saturday and declined to discuss suspects or possible leads.

Robertson said detectives interviewed witnesses all night and well into Saturday.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call them at 954-602-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.